Guardian
by Sokkaweekly
Summary: Sokka's got a new job, but things aren't always as easy as he'd like. Eventual Tokka. Modern AU.
1. Guardian

Nervous. Sokka wasn't supposed to feel nervous. He wasn't supposed to feel anything except resolute duty. But any sort of weakness was particularly bad.

It was hardly his fault, though. This was a big assignment, and it had been a while since he'd been back in this line of work. He didn't like to think of his previous employer, but she was always on his mind regardless.

He stood awkwardly on the shiny marble floor, briefly tapping his foot. Focus, that was key. Think of nothing, be aware of your surroundings at all times. Await further instructions.

Movement. His eyes latched onto the opening door in seconds, his hand twitched near his side.

A middle-aged man entered, and addressed Sokka immediately.

"Mr Beifong will receive you now."

The man turned, and Sokka followed him, until they reached a door with a flying pig motif etched into it along with the name Lao Beifong. Sokka turned the handle and entered the room.

An exceptionally well-dressed man sat behind an emerald desk, he contemplated Sokka and stroked his dangling moustache.

Sokka straightened up and tried to look impassive as he was looked over. His face was somewhat snobbish and sported a very slight sneer, but Sokka was used to that sort of treatment. It had long stopped bothering him.

"Sokka Amarok, is that your name?" The voice was as soft and aristocratic as Sokka has expected, but still contained a minor hint of disdain. Sokka chose to nod in reply.

"You seem young, Mr Amarok. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-three years old, Sir. I might be young, but I am in no way inexperienced. I've served plenty in this regard in the past." The direct approach was often the best one, in Sokka's opinion.

Lao Beifong frowned minutely. "Yes, I have heard… rumours of your past employment. Of course, I don't pay attention to commoner's gossip, but it is a slight concern nonetheless."

Rumours. Yes, there were certainly those. Sadly, there was little he could do the dispel them.

"I am not sure what you have been told, sir." He could guess, though. It would be better for him if this was nipped in the bud.

"They say that you made… advances to your previous employer's daughter. A woman you were sworn to protect. And you were thusly suspended from duty." It was clear what Lao thought of such matters.

Sokka's face tightened. He'd bet his life he knew just who had been responsible for these rumours.

"I would not speak out against my previous employers, but I assure you nothing untoward happened between myself and Miss Yue. It is unfortunate that her fiancé felt otherwise, and chose to terminate my employment."

It was not nearly as unfortunate as the assassination that had followed soon afterwards. Sokka had truly felt for the girl, and her death had hit him hard. The fact that her coward fiancé had survived was just another blow.

Lao looked out the window and onto the grounds.

"I love my daugher, Mr Amarok. She is my only child. But she is near-blind and frail. I cannot keep her contained here forever, but the outside world is too dangerous for her to face alone. She will need protecting.

"I will entrust you to this position. Ensure that she is safe at all times. But if she so much as gets a scratch on your watch, there will be consequences. And if I hear any… rumours, you will never be employed anywhere again, do you understand?"

Sokka nodded once. He'd be much more careful, this time. The epitome of professionalism.

"Splendid. I will take you to go and see her now, and then you will look after her at all times. You will give your life for her, if need be." The man rose, walking off at a brisk pace.

They found the woman in the gardens, sat on a polished stone bench. Sokka regarded her thoughtfully. She was young, wearing a green and white dress and seemed to be quite short with pitch-black hair held in a bun with a headband. When she turned to face them, he could see her green-grey eyes were cloudy and unfocused.

They were also narrowed in his direction. She regarded him with even more contempt than her father had. He could tell she was going to be trouble.

"Toph, this is your new bodyguard, Sokka Amarok. He will accompany you whenever you're outside."

At her father's words the hatred intensified briefly before she settled into a placid, compliant expression. Her voice was impossibly soft as she offered her greetings to her new defender.

Her father left the two to get acquainted, and as soon as he was gone the malice was back in full force.

"Listen up here, ponytail. You might be here to look after me like I'm some weak child, but you'll do as I say, alright?" Her previously mild tone was replaced with harsh venom.

He stared at her for a moment. His previous principals had, if not liked him, at least accepted him without much issue. He'd never been subjected to such raw fury simply for being hired to help someone.

Well, as unenjoyable as this was sure to be, he had a job to do. He could put up with an angry woman if he had to. He'd had plenty of practice from his sister, at least.

"Yes, Miss Beifong. As long as your requests don't result in any harm coming to your person."

He'd attempted to appease her with his words, but they only served to aggravate her even more.

"I'm not a helpless maiden! I don't need protecting from anything!" Her shout was followed by a stomping foot. Sokka privately found it a little childish.

It was clear the girl thought herself impervious to damage or something. But whatever the reason for her distress, there was only one language she would understand. What Sokka was about to do was technically a breach of protocol, but sometimes you just had to grab the bull by the horns.

So he grabbed her by the arm, and sat her down on the bench, standing before her.

"Okay, kid. Your dad's paying me to stop people from hurting you. You ever been outside this house?"

The sudden movement and questions startled the young woman, and she shook her head.

"I thought not. He looks the overprotective type. But like it or not, you need me. There are people out there that would gladly kidnap you to get ransom from your dad. And you're not exactly an amazon warrior. So you're gonna accept that I'm gonna be here to help you out, and we're gonna have a good time, got me?"

If her dad had seen his little display he would be up in arms for sure, but he didn't think she was the type to go tattling.

And indeed, a small smirk had crossed her face. She seemed to be reconsidering him.

"You're not as much as a wimp as you look."

"I've been in this business a while. I also have a sister who's even brattier than you. I can handle a few tantrums," he looked at her for a moment "I'm not here to be your friend or your servant. I'm here to ensure nobody tries to kill you."

Her smirk widened. "We'll see about that," there was a definite note of challenge in her voice.

"Catch me if you can!" And she rushed off, dress trailing behind her.

Sokka cursed quietly before tearing after her. This was going to be one tough assignment.


	2. Environment

He stood stock still, attempting to survey his surroundings while simultaneously ignoring the finger poking his arm.

After a moment the finger formed into a fist, which smacked against his armoured shoulder. The protective layer prevented any pain from blossoming - not that he expected any even if his arm had been bare.

"Cut it out," he muttered in the vain hope she'd obey.

"So you can talk after all," she crowed.

"Yes. And you can be silent, so please do so." Sokka kept his voice as neutral as possible.

She ignored him, going back to prodding. But instead of his arm, she focused on the lump near his chest.

"What's this?" Toph demanded to know.

Sokka debated the merits of deflecting her question, but in the brief time that he'd come to know the girl he'd learned she was nothing if not persistent.

Carefully he reached into his jacket and extracted his glock. Keeping his finger away from the trigger, he showed it to his charge.

Her pale eyes squinted at the weapon, before widening as she fully took it in.

"Wow. Where did you get that?"

Sokka didn't answer for a moment, before deciding caving was the best option.

"It was my dad's, in his army days. He gave it to me not long after my mother died. He said it was so reliable, if you threw it away it'd probably come back to you like a boomerang. So I named it Boomerang.

"That's why it's blue. He was in the Water Tribe corps, quite highly ranked."

A frown appeared on her face.

"I don't know what blue is," she muttered sullenly.

Surprise and confusion struck Sokka. Was she so sheltered that she didn't even know what a colour was called? It didn't seem possible.

"What do you mean you don't know what blue is?"

The frown deepened, and she turned away.

"I'm colourblind, stupid. Everything looks the same to me anyway - fuzzy."

Ah. Yes, now he remembered her dad had mentioned her visual impairment. Oh dear, he'd just committed a faux pas, hadn't he?

Tucking his gun back into its holster, he gingerly put a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry, I guess I forgot. Not the sharpest knife in the drawer sometimes," he said self-deprecatingly.

The girl snorted in derisively, smirking in amusement.

"You don't need to tell me that," she laughed.

Rolling his eyes at her, he shook his head for a moment.

"Gee thanks," he said flatly.

"I'd say you can't be that bad if my father hired you, but some of the other guys he's employed were pretty worthless. My old tutor, Master Yu... well, he didn't last long," Toph explained.

"What happened to him?" Sokka asked, interested.

"Oh, he ended up joining up with a gang leader and they tried to kidnap me for ransom money," was her airy reply.

Sokka blinked, stunned at her confession.

"Wow. No wonder your dad's a bit paranoid, that's crazy."

Toph waved her arm in a dismissing gesture.

"Nah, they were idiots. I ended up locking them in their own cage and left them. They might still be in there actually. As skeletons."

Sokka was horrified.

"Are you being serious? Man, I am going to keep a close eye on you from now on."

Toph looked at him for a moment before cracking up, bending over and holding her stomach as her raucous laughter sounded out across the grounds.

"Maybe I'm lying, maybe I'm not. You'll never know," she grinned. "At least you're not half as stuffy as he was."

She wiped away the tears that had leaked out of her eyes during her laughing fit before staring at him intently for a moment. Sokka gazed back at her, a little unnerved by how her eyes seemed both unfocused and razor-sharp.

"Can you keep a secret?" She asked him.

Wrinkling his brow, he nodded.

"As your employee, I am sworn to keep your confidence, Miss Beifong."

She punched him in the arm again, scowling slightly.

"Sorry. Yes, sure thing Toph." Sokka corrected himself.

"Good. Come with me," the young woman instructed.

He raised an eyebrow as she turned and began walking away, but nonetheless followed dutifully. His instructions were to keep her safe - not keep her still, after all.

They walked across the perfectly kept lawn for several minutes, before reaching the borders of the estate. The mansion was surrounded by elaborate metal railings, but there was a small, tucked-away gap where the metal had rusted away that lead into the outside world.

Glancing through the hole, it was amazing how the area suddenly went from rich and maintained into and untamed wilderness in only a few steps.

Shrubs and tussocks of grass sprang up here and there with patches of heather and wild flowers dotted around. Insects flittered around, gathering from the various plants and birds lurked in the treetops, taking wing at their approach.

Sokka stopped just short of it, placing his hand on his charge's shoulder to keep her in place. He surveyed the verdant hinterland with a small measure of worry.

"I'm not so sure about this, Toph. I don't think your dad will be happy if I let you leave the estate. We should turn back before anyone wonders where we are." Sokka tried to convince her.

Toph would have none of it, shaking her head angrily.

"I haven't showed you anything yet. Forget him, nothing will happen," she insisted.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one with a job on the line here," Sokka retorted. "Fine, I'll see whatever it is you want me to, if it's quick. But when I say so, we're leaving. Got it?"

Smiling at his resigned look, Toph easily slipped through the gap into the wild. Sokka had to put some effort into squeezing past, being somewhat larger and carrying more things.

The pair stood and admired the lush landscape, it was much more beautiful without the obstructing metallic barrier.

And then Toph was on the move again, heading deeper into the woods. Sokka scrambled after her, easily navigating through the tall grass. He twitched slightly as he took in the shadows cast by the tall trees, seeing all the many places suitable for an ambush.

True, it was very unlikely, but he was on edge after Toph's story earlier. He put his hand in his jacket, fingers curling around his glock. The cool metal was comforting against his skin.

Trailing after the black-haired girl, he wondered just how many times she'd been out here for her to have gained the level of familiarity with the area that she did. Perhaps he would be wise to mention the hole in the fence to someone to prevent more excursions.

But then again, Toph would surely know he had done so. Angering her would only cause more problems for him, she'd never forgive him for constraining her freedom.

His contemplation came to an end when Toph suddenly halted by the side of a small incline. It appeared to be some kind of mound of earth, or maybe a hill.

"Is this what you brought me out here for? There's nothing there." He said, bemused.

Toph made a shushing noise, putting her fingers in her mouth and giving a short, sharp whistle. For a moment nothing happened, and then something began to emerge from a hole a few metres away from them.

Sokka stared at the long, pointed snout and striped face. The beast snuffled as it walked to Toph, other badgers appearing behind it.

"Badgers. I see. They're, um, nice?" Sokka stated uncertainly.

Toph crouched down, stroking the head of the biggest one. The little badgers crowded around her.

"When I was a kid, I ran away from home for a bit. I found this sett here, with these badgers. They didn't treat me like I was broken because I can barely see. They just accepted me. So I kept coming back whenever I felt sad or lonely," Toph admitted.

He gazed at her, petting the wild animal in the evening light with a serene smile on her lips. How could he deny her this? Even if the hole was discovered, he vowed he'd open up another one for her.

"Thanks for showing me, Toph," he said, squatting down to join her.

The badgers looked at him, and he held a hand out to one. It sniffed curiously at his fingers, giving them a small lick. And then it bit him.

He yelled in pained anger and the group fled, dispersing into their hole. He brought his hand up to his face and inspected the damage. It wasn't a deep bite, not even breaking the skin, but it still hurt a bit.

"You scared them off," Toph huffed. "There was no need to scream, you wuss."

"It mauled me!" Sokka exclaimed. He frowned at the entrance to the sett before offering a hand to Toph. "Come on, we're leaving. That's enough of wild creatures for me."

Ignoring his hand, Toph rose on her own. He shrugged, leading the way back.

"They don't know you, I guess it's no surprise they reacted strongly," Toph mused.

"Strongly? It could have taken my finger off," he muttered.

"Whatever, pansy," Toph laughed.

Sokka scowled harder at her comment, but chose to ignore it as they passed back into the Beifong Estate. He waited for Toph to get ahead of him, before grabbing a few leafy branches and laying them over the hole. Soon the gap was invisible.

Only they would know it was there.


	3. Diversion

Omashu was… interesting. It was built entirely of stone, on top of a mountain. This hardly seemed the safest place to make your home, in Sokka's opinion, but the people who dwelled there seemed unconcerned.

But then again, it was populated mainly by mad people. It was entirely possible that Omashu was just one giant asylum. You'd have to be insane to willingly get into a small, stone box and travel down a slope with no barriers to protect you, but it seemed a popular sport.

He made a mental note to ensure Toph went nowhere near any. Something would inevitably go wrong, somehow.

But even though the occupants of the city were clearly not right in the head, they were perfectly rational compared to their leader - the so-called 'King of Omashu'.

From what Sokka had gathered, the man had earned his nickname through a series of seemingly-random investments, all of which had paid out big-time.

With as many years as he'd been playing the merchant game (and rumour had it that he was nearly as old as the city itself), Bumi had amassed some considerable wealth.

Which is why he was here, guarding his reckless charge while her father talked business. Sadly he had never been to Omashu, which put him a little on edge. Who knew what nooks and crannies held potential enemies?

But all he could do was keep a careful eye out and hope that Toph wouldn't attempt to make a run for it.

Though she had been warming up to him considerably lately, now that she knew he couldn't be intimidated by her, but wasn't a stiff, humourless gun-for-hire and would occasionally indulge her a moment of freedom.

But sat here in a meeting, listening to suits drone on about financial matters was exhausting. More than once Toph had fallen asleep, much to the displeasure of her father.

Privately, Sokka had wondered why Lao had brought them along. Perhaps he thought that Sokka would corrupt his precious daughter if he wasn't there to keep an eye on them.

In side his mind, Sokka scoffed. If anyone was going to be corrupting, it was definitely Toph. The young woman had shown him another one of her secrets; a little stash she kept hidden.

Sokka had been truly amazed as he beheld the bottles. Where she had managed to obtain the alcohol, and how she had smuggled it into the Beifong Manor without anyone noticing still remained a secret. Perhaps she would tell him one day.

For now though, all he had to do was stand guard and wait for this to all be over. It wouldn't be long until they were back in Gaoling.

* * *

"And that concludes the report on sustainable agriculture from Ba Sing Se. The ramifications of this…"

Sokka had already tuned the man out as best he could, but patches of words broke through to his consciousness despite his efforts.

Eventually the constant buzz died down, until there was nothing but silence. He stood taller as the assembled men and women rose from their chairs, leaving in relative silence.

His gaze flickered to his employer, but Lao was still seated, stroking his moustache in interest as he considered a piece of paper. Beside him Toph groaned, her forehead pressed against the table.

"And who might this be?"

The voice startled him slightly, but he managed to control any instinctual reactions, turning swiftly to face the man who had addressed him.

The wizened face was wrinklier than an overweight hippopotamus. Great chunks of pure white hair stuck out at odd angles, and one of his eyes was larger than the other.

"Sokka Amarok, sir. Bodyguard to Miss Beifong."

The ancient businessman murmured interestedly, contemplating Sokka carefully. Despite himself, Sokka couldn't help but feel more than a little weirded out by the stare. His eyes followed the curious feathers on the King's head.

"You've chosen wisely, Lao. This boy knows what he's doing," Bumi declared, guffawing to himself.

Lao did not look like he shared Bumi's opinion, but nodded stiffly, turning back to his document.

Bumi stared at Sokka for a moment longer, before his gaze slid over to Toph, still slumped against the table.

"And what about you, young miss?" He said.

Her head rose up a fraction, her eyes attempting to take the King of Omashu in. Sokka wondered what she saw - in perfect vision Bumi was hardly a sight for sore eyes, half blind he would be a complete mess.

The girl reached over to poke him, as though not entirely sure he was there. Lao gasped, scandalised by his progeny's behaviour.

"Toph! That is no way for a lady to behave," he scolded. "King Bumi, I am so sorry."

Bumi waved his hand in dismissal, laughing harder than ever.

"Curiousity is good in a youth," he said, grinning widely, showcasing his missing teeth.

He seemed to think for a moment, before his eyes sparkled.

"In fact, why don't I take them off your hands for a little while. It's been too long since Flopsie has had visitors."

Judging by the frown that appeared on Lao's face, he was loath to let Toph go anywhere, particularly in such company. But after a moment he gave his assent, with a chilling look at Sokka.

"Splendid. Come along, we have such sights to see here in Omashu," Bumi boomed.

More than a little apprehensive himself, Sokka followed the king warily. Toph just seemed happy to be out of those dreadful meetings, and doing something new and interesting.

* * *

"And this is our gladiator pit. Men fight here for my amusement in all sorts of ways, usually criminals," the mad king explained.

Sokka stared down into the pit with horror, noting the occasional strange, dark patches of ground. Beside him, Toph grinned widely, clearly imagining brutal battles.

"Wow. Can you get one going now?" She asked.

The king seemed to be considering the idea, and Sokka felt that it was his duty to jump in before anything could happen.

"I don't think that your father would approve," he rebuked.

"Spoilsport," Toph glared at him sullenly.

"I sometimes fight in there myself, you know," Bumi wheezed.

Sokka couldn't even begin to imagine it. The old man looked like a sudden wind would knock him over. It was surprising he'd held out this long.

"And this is our secret jennamite mine," Bumi said, leading them away from the arena.

Sokka raised an eyebrow at the sparkly jewels.

"They're pretty, I suppose. What's so special about them that they're secret, though?" He wondered.

The old man laughed, snorting violently, before he grasped the rock and tore a shard off. He stared into Sokka's eyes as he shoved it in his mouth.

Sokka winced at the terrible crunching noise, fearing that the decrepit merchant had now lost all his teeth.

And was amazed when he opened his mouth again, beaming widely.

"The secret is that jennamite is actually made of candy!" The king cackled.

Toph whistled at this revelation, snagging herself a piece. She munched on it happily, clearly pleased by its taste.

Sokka took a piece too, studying it for a moment. It certainly looked like a rock. He shrugged, opening his mouth to take a bite when the candy suddenly began to swell in size.

He shouted in surprise, hurling the chunk far away from him.

"That's the other secret; jennamite is also known as creeping crystal. And so, our mines never run out!" Bumi said proudly.

"Handy," Toph declared, eating more.

Sokka stared at the king, horror creeping through his veins.

"It expands? By how much?!" He asked.

Bumi shrugged.

"If you were to put a ring of it on your finger, it would encase you in a few hours."

Sokka felt sick.

"You've eaten some… what if it expands in your belly? It would kill you!" He cried.

He immediately charged forward, grabbing Toph.

"C'mon Toph, throw up!" He said, attempting to put pressure on her belly.

"Let go of me, idiot!" Toph cried, struggling in his grip.

Sokka persisted, until he felt a curiously strong hand fall on his shoulder.

"Worry not, young Sokka. We Omashuians have eaten jennamite for centuries, and very few people have died from it."

This did not reassure Sokka in the slightest, but he let go of Toph anyway.

"Very few? So people have died," he said.

The old man cackled.

"Well, it happens. Now come, Flopsie awaits."

Still spooked by the jennamite scare, Sokka's hand snaked into his jacket, finding his glock. Whoever this Flopsie was, hopefully they were friendly.

He doubted it. No one who lived in a cave was ever friendly.

* * *

Flopsie was friendly. That was good.

Sadly Flopsie was also a giant gorilla, which was not good. Gorillas are not widely regarded as suitable pets.

Nobody had seen fit to tell Bumi this, however, and he and Flopsie greeted one another warmly, the ancient man stroking the simian's stomach with gusto.

Quite frankly, Sokka had no idea how to respond to this new turn of events. In all his years of bodyguarding, he'd never had cause to deal with any form of ape in any way, the closest he'd ever come was his sister's boyfriend's pet lemur.

Momo was hardly a fraction of the size of this behemoth, and was certainly not equipped with the ginormous fangs clearly visible whenever the creature opened its mouth.

If he was being honest, should Flopsie decide he wanted to eat any of of the humans, Sokka was not sure he could do anything about it. All he could do was trust that a mad, ancient merchant could control the beast.

Privately, Sokka doubted he was being paid enough to deal with this.

"Toph, stay away," he warned.

She ignored him as ever, reaching over to pat the beast on its belly. Sokka tried not to think about how its hands were the size of her head.

The ape made pleased noises as Bumi murmured soft pleasantries to him. After a moment Sokka sighed, relinquishing his hold on his glock, and took a step closer to the group.

One of the ape's eyes cracked open, staring right at him. Sokka froze as the massive head turned in interest, regarding him.

"Nice… Flopsie…" Sokka whispered.

The ape seemed satisfied, lying fully on his back as the three humans showered him in attention. After stroking him a few times, Sokka turned to Bumi.

"So, where'd you get him?" He asked. "Not what you'd call a typical pet."

Bumi pulled at the gorilla's cheeks for a moment, snorting.

"I'm not a typical man," he said simply.

"Ain't that the truth," Sokka muttered under his breath.

"Flopsie and I go way back. He used to be in the care of some very unpleasant people, but we soon separated them."

"What happened to them?" Toph asked.

The old man grinned evilly, his mismatched eyes gleaming with malice.

"Why, they were put into the gladiator pit of course. As was Flopsie." He babied the two metre tall simian. "You're my little winner, aren't you?"

Sokka shuddered.

"Well, it was nice seeing Flopsie, we should probably get going before Mr Beifong wonders where we are," he said hurriedly.

"Wuss," Toph muttered snidely, but didn't contest his order.

Bumi gave no indication that he had heard Sokka for a moment, before he reached into his gaudy robe and produced a piece of bamboo. He offered it to Flopsie, who took it, devouring the plant with gusto.

"Very well, young Sokka. Goodbye for now, Flopsie. Daddy will be back soon."

They left the dark cave and the gorilla behind.


End file.
